No Fly Zone

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Castout

I'm expecting the French with their Rafale. Bomb those pro Gaddafi !$#@!!%!. Forget no fly zone. Bomb the runaways, destroy the planes and tanks. Or shoot Gaddafi in the ass.

Too overt. There are boots on the ground already. The rescue of those Brit Oil Workers by the Regiment showed that. Just sneak in and sabotage anything that is a major threat. Those new mobile MLRS US SOF have would work wonders in Shoot and Scoot missions against Libyan Air Bases.

Originally Posted by Oberon

I guess (again, little qualifications here) that one would have to go back to the root of the question and ask "What is the US's interests?" and not the stated interests but the real ones. Geo-political influence, resources, survival of Israel? Only the NSA and perhaps TLAM Strike really know I'd wager.

You summoned?

IMHO US Interests in the Region are in no particular order:

Stability in the region. Whatever is happening get it over with. When Qaddafi was in power for the last 10 years or so he was quiet in contrast to the 1970s and 1980s. We like it better when is not providing a safe haven for terrorists ala Patriot Games or transferring weapons tech ala the Condor Missile.

The spice must flow. The oil stocks of Libya just opened up to the west and we want the opportunity to get Oil that's not threatened by Iran or from Russia.

Contain and capture any remaining Libyan WMDs. Qaddafi had a big CBRN weapons and BM program, its likely not all of it was destroyed. The opportunity for capturing/inspecting/neutralizing certain sites and personnel now exists.